The Techie Mommy

Helping Parents to embrace Digital Education

2011-11-03T11:35:00.000-05:00

With how quickly technology is changing, it can be hard to keep up. Especially for parents

who work and have very busy schedules. A digital education is going to start becoming more

the norm in our schools and parents may feel left behind. This article explains some things

that parents can do to embrace digital education and not feel so intimidated by it.

App teaches children social networking safety

2011-10-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

This looks great! I love ways that we can help teach our kids to be safe about using social networking!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44948523/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/#.Tp7X4d7iHqE

A new technology mama blog

2011-10-16T16:36:00.000-05:00

I happened upon A Geeky Momma's Blog this week. She has some really good stuff on there and you should head over and check it out!

The Fresh Air Fund thanks you!

2011-10-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

If you have never heard of the Fresh Air Fund, then you should definitely go check out their website. They had a great year this year and want to thank anyone who helped out in any way.

THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2010, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

http://freshairfundhost.org/

This is a wonderful organization and even if you do not live in New York, you can still help by donating! I love this organization and what they do and I hope you do too!

Are you addicted to Twitter?! {Funny}

2011-09-30T12:53:00.000-05:00

21 Signs You’re Addicted to Twitter

via SimpleK12 by Lisa on 9/30/11

Twitter addiction is real. And if you're reading this post, likely the question you should be asking yourself isn't "Am I addicted to Twitter?" but "How addicted am I?!".

You likely found this blog through a retweeted Tweet that another Twitter addict sent out... and you may have already retweeted yourself before even reading this.

Here's my list of 21... do you think you could add any to this list? How many of these apply to you?

1. You feel it's your personal mission to convert non-tweeters.

2. You have a Twitter client on your smartphone, desktop, and usually open in a browser.

3. Your friends are more likely to get a response from you if they send you a Tweet versus a text (or phone call!).

4. You can't wait for Twitter to auto-refresh, so you do it manually.

5. You know the Fail Whale isn't an attraction at Sea World.

6. You Tweet with people in the same room as you.

7. You Tweet and drive (tisk, tisk!!)

8. Your significant other is often jealous of Twitter.

9. You've whispered "I should Tweet that" under your breath.

10. You upload more pictures to Twitter than you send to your Mom.

11. You have more followers on Twitter than friends in real life.

12. The first thing you do in the morning is look at your @mentions column.

13. You've created a Google Alert for your Twitter name.

14. You added your Twitter handle to your business card or email signature.

15. You count your followers every day.

16. You've snuck a Tweet at an inappropriate time (church, family dinner, parent/teacher meeting, etc.)

17. You think your URL shortener is better than someone else's shortener.

18. You've been to a TweetUp

19. You dislike someone that you only know from Twitter.

20. You judge someone based on their Twitter Profile.

21. You're reading this article, add a Sign to the list using the comments, and then RT this post.

Do you want the new Facebook timeline now?

2011-09-28T07:00:00.001-05:00

Facebook will be releasing the new "timeline" in a few weeks, but guess what?! You can get it NOW!!!

Follow this link, to read this article and watch a video that explains a couple of ways that you can start using the new timeline now.

Keeping Kids Safe in an Online World

2011-09-27T13:46:00.000-05:00

I'm over at GoGo Mountain Home, Arkansas today talking about how to keep your kids safe in an online world.

Hop on over and visit and leave some comment love!

Math games - Count Us In Games

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I think everyone can benefit with a little help in mathematics.

These games are designed to help children understand basic number concepts.

I thought this site was very cool and will be using these games with my kiddos. It was very fun added with lots of learning!

StumbleUpon

2011-09-18T12:49:00.000-05:00

I love Stumble Upon. It finds and recommends stuff in all kinds of categories for its users. It is a great way to find blog content in any category you can think of.

This is a great article that explains what Stumble Upon is and how to use it.

Call Your Friends right from Facebook

2011-09-02T13:58:00.000-05:00

Have you used this feature on Facebook yet? What did you think about it? Did you use Skype before? Will this replace Skype for you?

I'd love to hear from you!

Little Lilly Polka Dot

2011-09-01T12:53:00.000-05:00

Little Lilly Polka Dot is a super cute website for kids. It has learning tools, activities, games, coloring sheets you can print, wall art you can print, a blog and a narrated picture book that teaches kids that going to the doctor is not so scary.

Hop on over there and see what you think!!!

Do you have Klout?

2011-08-29T07:00:00.002-05:00

I recently joined Klout. Have you heard of it? It is a fun website that measure's a user's influence across their social media network.

Here is my page :-) I don't have a lot of klout yet!

Klout has a FAQ page that is very helpful and this article I read recently is also a good resource to learn about Klout.

Have you joined Klout? Do you plan on joining Klout?

Image via Google.com

Family Online Safety Institute- Top Internet Safety Tips for Parents

2011-08-26T07:00:00.002-05:00

The Family Online Safety Institute

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) works to
make the online world safer for kids and their families
by identifying and promoting best practices, tools
and methods in the field of online safety that also
respect free speech. FOSI is a trusted convener,
bringing together leaders in government, industry
and the nonprofit sectors to collaborate and innovate
new solutions in child safety in a Web 2.0 world

To view their Top Internet Safety Tips for Parents-
http://www.fosi.org/images/stories/resources/fosi-parent-tips.pdf

To sign the Internet Safety Contracts-
http://www.fosi.org/images/stories/resources/family-online-safety-contract.pdf

Cut the Rope, A fun puzzle game

2011-08-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Cut the Rope

From the App Store-
A mysterious package has arrived, and the creature inside has only one request…CANDY! Get a taste of the highly innovative and addictive Cut the Rope. Try out 18 full levels combining outstanding physics, devilishly tricky levels, and bright colorful visuals, Cut the Rope is one of the most original and fun-filled games on the App Store

Free Educational iPhone apps for Kids!

2011-08-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

Today, I have a link to some great, free educational iPhone apps for your kiddos. Just click here to hop on over and check them out!

Changes!

2011-08-18T08:07:00.002-05:00

Hi friends!

I've been MIA but I'm still here! My little girlie started kindergarten this Monday, so we have been very busy! It is a big change in our household! I will be adding some new posts very soon! Hope everyone is doing great!

Lenette
aka The Techie Mommy

SocialShield

2011-08-04T16:09:00.001-05:00

Parents- this is a GREAT tool to have and use to help monitor your child's time online. My children are not old enough to spend time online yet, but already I am worried about what they may encounter.

I would encourage every parent to have some sort of system to monitor their children online. Even as they grow, they still benefit from guidance and advice from us veterans of the Internet.

The Internet and social networking are compelling parents to define a new approach to parenting, and SocialShield offers them a new tool to see not only their kids’ activity, but their friends’ activity as well. SocialShield monitors and summarizes a child’s online activity, and alerts parents about situations where their children may be victimized by cyberbullying or child predators, in addition to reputation damaging posts and pictures.

SocialShield is the only service that analyzes a child’s friends by checking their info against more than 50 data points to determine if there is anyone that the parent should be concerned about. Alerts are generated when an adult becomes a friend of a child, when someone looks suspicious or has no other friends in common with a child, or if something appears out of the ordinary. In addition, SocialShield monitors a child’s social network activity for inappropriate pictures and reckless discussions about subjects like drugs, sex, violence, alcohol and suicide. Parenting is difficult enough without all of the outside concerns. With SocialShield, parents are allotted extra piece of mind knowing they are doing what they can to try to protect their children on the Internet.

Knowing when and why to use Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and Google Plus

2011-07-31T17:15:00.000-05:00

If you are like many people, you are probably wondering why you would need Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and a blog.

I have all of these and actually I have multiple blogs, so I definitely need to see benefits of having each one of these accounts.

There are so many things out there to drain your time, so it is important to know the benefits that each can have for you.

This article has done a great job of breaking it down to help you figure out when and why to use each of these social networks.

Wanna get paid to Blog?

2011-07-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys!

I know a lot of you are bloggers and are interested in opportunities to get paid to blog. This is a great resource to start out with to get that going!

It has some great tips and even gives some links of groups and sites to link up with that are putting brands and bloggers together!

Have a great weekend!

via Google Images

Just Free books

2011-07-25T15:07:00.000-05:00

Are you looking for free books for your Nook, Kindle or iPad? Here is a great site where you can search for free books!

From the site--

JustFreeBooks search the content of more than 700 web sites, including gutenberg.org, wikibooks.org and archive.org. With JustFreeBooks you can find all sorts of free books: public domain texts, open books, free audio books, ad-supported books and more. Just type in the search box the book, author or theme you want to find.

http://www.justfreebooks.info/

The complete Guide to Google+

2011-07-17T16:44:00.002-05:00

Via Mashable-----

http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

40 Google+ Tips for Newbies

2011-07-16T11:03:00.001-05:00

I thought I would share this article. It has GREAT tips on using Google+!

http://www.marketingprofessor.com/social-marketing/40-google-plus-tips-for-newbies/

My thoughts on Google+

2011-07-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

I'm one that takes a while to get into new things. It took me forever to get into Twitter. Now that I am, I'm addicted, but that's besides the point. It seems that there is so much going on the Internet and it is easy to get overwhelmed. I, myself, have a Twitter and Facebook account, write two blogs, two email accounts, a Google Reader, a BlogHer account and now a Google+ account. That's a LOT to keep up with! Not to mention that I'm married, have two kids, family to keep up with and a house to clean!

So, what do I think about Google+?

Well, the jury is still out.

I'm not sure where it is headed.

Is it going to be another Facebook?

I think most people I know will be too used to Facebook and too lazy to make the switch.

I definitely don't see it overtaking Twitter.

To me, it has more in common with Facebook.

I have added some people on Google+ and so far I haven't done much else with it.

I'm waiting to see where it is headed and what people will mainly use it for.

Do you have a Google+ account?

What do you think about it?

Find me on Google+ @ gplus.to/lsparacino

Alpah Tots

2011-07-11T09:55:00.009-05:00

Alpha Tots for iPad

"A" is for action in this exciting new alphabet game, fresh from the makers of TallyTots™. Designed to take full advantage of the iPad's interactive capabilities, AlphaTots™ uses action-based verbs that encourage young minds to "do" as they learn. Whether they're building robots, digging for treasure or zapping alien ships from the sky, they'll discover all 26 letters of the alphabet through fun-filled games that invite them to look, laugh and learn.

What a great app to add to your collections of games for your kiddos on the iPad! My kiddos are almost in school, so they have known their ABC's for a long time, but those of you with toddlers, this is a GREAT app for you to share with your child!

Best iPad apps for Kids

2011-07-07T09:10:00.000-05:00

If you have and iPad and kids, there is no doubt that the kiddos will have screen time. My kids love our iPad and I thought I would share an article that showcased some great apps for those kiddos for the iPad.

http://www.ikidapps.com/2010/09/best-ipad-apps-for-kids.html

What apps do you have that your kids absolutely love?